al@vger.UUCP ( Informatix) (01/31/86)
There have been two interesting programs on TV about Savimbi (sp?). Savimbi is the head of UNITA, a group in Angola that is fighting the local government. The government is supported by 30-40,000 Cuban troops and lots of Soviet arms. Many American conservatives want to support Savimbi by sending him weapons. Savimbi was trained by communist China and is presently aided by, among others, South Africa. Another critical fact is that Gulf Oil has a large operation in Angola that supplies the government with a great deal of revenue and, apparantly, was established with the help of loans from the U.S. federal government. Gulf's facilities are a major target in the civil war. This brings us to a remarkable situation. American conservatives want to supply arms to a guerilla fighter trained by communists who will use those weapons to destroy the facilities of an American company! And those conservatives are fully aware of this fact! The second program I saw was a four way debate between Savimbi, a government spokesman, and American congressmen on both sides of the issue. Savimbi was very impressive. Articulate, smart, and said exactly what I wanted to hear. The government spokesman never answered a question directly, spoke fluently but couldn't seem to construct a coherant sentance, and tried to pin the terrorist and South African labels on Savimbi. The really remarkable fact was that these guys were debating with each other on American TV. This is certainly a new wrinkle in the age old game of revolution and repression!